The subject invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing a mail piece. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and method for producing mail pieces which apparatus and method are suitable for use with microcomputers and standard word processing software in an office environment.
Many systems for directly producing mail pieces directly from the printed output of a data processing system have been proposed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,752; to Gombault et al.; issued Feb. 1st, 1994 discloses a mail preparation system wherein a data processing system controls a linear mail preparation apparatus. The data processing system controls a printer to print documents which, after printing, pass, under the control of the data processing system, through a succession of stations such as a burster, an insert feed station, an address printer, a postage meter and the like. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,505; to: Axelrod et al.; issued Jan. 24, 1989, discloses a system wherein a data processing system prints documents and marks them with an identification code, and simultaneously downloads parameters for controlling the operation of a mail preparation line to a database. As the documents are fed into the mail preparation line, the identification code is scanned and used to access the database to determine the parameters for each mail piece to be produced from the corresponding documents. Other systems for inserting documents into windowed envelopes so that an address printed on the document is visible, or system for printing self-mailer forms which are then folded and sealed to form mail pieces are also known. A system where an envelope form is printed in sequence with documents and later accumulated with the documents, then wrapped around the documents and sealed to form the mail piece is described in U.S. Pat. No.: 5,067,305; issued Nov. 26, 1991; to Baker et al.
While such systems are perhaps suitable for their intended purpose heretofore no system has been available to mailers of moderate size (i.e. who mail on the order of a few thousand pieces a month), who wish to produce high quality mail runs. Systems such as that taught by Gombault et al. and Axelrod et al. are intended for large scale mailers using main frame computers and high capacity inserter systems, while windowed envelopes and self-mailers have an unfortunate "junk mail" aspect.
Where systems for producing mail pieces have printed conventional envelopes they have heretofore printed the envelopes only after the documents are inserted into the envelope; resulting in degradation of print quality from printing on a full envelope, which may vary in thickness, and an increased footprint for the mail production apparatus.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus and method for producing moderately sized mail runs of a high quality, and which is suitable for use in an office environment with standard microcomputers and word processing programs.